The Gate Of Past
by RavenGuardian
Summary: The Past stories about my characters from Kingdom Hearts Remake- roleplay. They are Xayldar Number Thirteen, Xaelion Number Nineteen and Kirix Number Five.
1. Gone

I am very sorry that my English isn't very good, but I still wanted to try to write this story and I hope you can still read it. This is just a short version of the original, because my language skills is hardly enough to translate the whole story. So I made that short version. The original is in Finnish.

"Get out of here! The King doesn't hire your kind of low mercenaries!" A man shouted and hit the Castle's door closed front of a young man's nose. The slim young man with very long plaited dark blue hair and yellow eyes, didn't startle because of this little thing. In fact, he spat towards the door before marched away from the castle.

"He should hire me. He will be sorry on the day when I am king." Leonai, the young man, snorted by himself and continued his journey back to the village. Actually Leonai didn't want to be king. He wanted to fight and be something very mighty. Something more than king. He didn't want to take care of people and the land.

The villagers didn't like him. He was that wild and unruly youth, that monster who didn't respect anyone and that monster, which happened to be gentle, calm but absent-minded Darlya's brother. Leonai was a frequently heard it from the villagers. He should rather be as his totally-disappeared -from -this -world stupid brother. Nobody dared to say it to against his face, but he wasn't deaf. His parents were the only ones who had dared to do so. Just rest in peace, parents.

The Fact was that Leonai hated his brother. There wasn't another as absent-minded and stupid person than his brother. Darlya was simply unable to anything. Leonai didn't really know his brother. It would be easier to know a stone's movements of the mind. He assumed a lot of things because of it. For example when he went somewhere and came back and his brother were in the same place where he had been when Leonai left, this assumed that his brother absolutely did nothing. He really didn't know if brother did something still. Darlya was one weird mystery.

Leonai treated his brother a very cruel manner, but his brother gave it to forgive ... because his brother was unable to remember anything. This seemed to have found very own world somewhere inside his head. Could take many days as it seemed that the brother responded to anything. It irritated Leonai particularly hard. However, which he wouldn't be annoyed. Villagers said that he was totally heartless. In this, they were probably quite right. They felt sorry for his dreamer brother.

Leonai was firmly determined to kill this so-gentle-and-calm brother, but for some reason he hadn't done it yet. He didn't ask himself why. Perhaps because he didn't want to think of an answer.

Today, he was a particularly bad mood. The king hadn't hired him, so he had said a few well-chosen words of the king and the whole kingdom, and so he had literally been flying out of the castle. Brother was valid to a dismantling of the anger.

Leonai walked to the house, which he and his brother shared. The house was separated from the rest of the village. It was located closer to the precipice, which below opened the sea panorama. Near of the house was also a secluded garden spot.

The Garden belonged to his brother. Darlya had brought all kinds of plants there, but his proudest was pale red flowering cherry tree. There, he usually spent his time, so Leonai went to garden first to find his brother. However, he didn't find his brother there this time. This wasn't under his precious cherry tree nor somewhere else.

Leonai snorted being frustrated. He had never had the eye to the beauty of the garden and because his brother liked it so much, he had decided one day to burn the whole nonsense and cut down the cherry tree. Perhaps it would wake his brother from the eternal dream world.

But not now. Leonai was looking for his brother now. He wondered where would look next, but then he felt the wind against his face. Yeah, sure. Today, the wind blew direction of the sea. It would be easy to find his brother after all. He rushed to the highest precipice near of their home and Darlya was standing there, his deep blue eyes closed, face to sea, on the edge of the cliff. His very long white hair billowed in the wind. They would go directly to say that Darlya was beautiful. This looked like a fairy tale's creature. That loathed at Leonai.

He walked to his brother and was already planning to push foolish dreamer to down from cliff, when this suddenly opened his mouth to speak.

"Something is wrong... I think that wind try to tell me something." Darlya said. His eyes opened and they have the same looks as sleepwalker's eyes.

"The wind can't speak, brother." Leonai snarled, but Darlya didn't care about it.

"Something unknown enemy has appeared... soon all will end."

Somehow those words, what Darlya said with his gently quiet voice gave creeps to Leonai. No, brother was just hopeless dreamer, storyteller and storysinger, who was sniffed his plants too much. Darlya was nothing. Why Leonai should be the same?

"Whatever." Leonai snorted and then walked away. Darlya was too weird today. Leonai needed something else to do. First time he felt as clock inside his head took its first stage to tick. Leonai didn't like it. He went to train the use of the manriki. It was new weapon to him, but he already liked it. He trained end of the day. When he came back to home very late, Darlya was still missing. Leonai didn't care.

Darlya was back in the morning. In any case, brother sat on the floor of kitchen with that total absent look in his eyes as usual. He hummed quietly a very old song. Leonai knew lyrics of the song and they gave him creeps. The song was quite sad but now there was something very sinister too. Leonai didn't want to hear that. Leonai stepped to closer his brother and slapped firmly him on the cheek. Darlya stopped humming and turned his eye to Leonai.

"Shut up! Don't sing that song!" Leonai snapped. Darlya only blinked his eyes, stayed quiet.

While Leonai ate breakfast, he thought up that he could take his brother to train with him. Actually he thought that he could try his manriki against his brother. Then he just took brother with him, went to out and pushed the spear for him. Once he had taught his brother to use the spear. But now was useless to remember it anymore. Brother had sunk deeper into his dream world.

"Well then, fight with me!" Leonai ordered.

Darlya didn't do anything for while. He just stared the spear and Leonai started to think if brother going to do anything at all, but suddenly some kind of life sparkled Darlya's eyes and he attacked. Leonai avoided it and started to spin the manriki. When Darlya tried hit again, Leonai moved the manriki front of the spear. The hit was so hard that it shattered the spear. Darlya was unarmed. Leonai was going to just hit his brother with the manriki, when he heard someone is coming. He turned to see the newcomer, who rode there with the royal colors. Xaelion didn't like horses nor long men, because he and Darlya were quite short.

"The King wants to hire you after all. Now. Come quickly to the Castle." Horseman ordered. Leonai smirked.

"What about my salary?" He asked.

"You get what you want, but we need you immediately." Horseman said and then rode away.

"Well, that's it. Our match is over. I'm leaving now." Leonai said. The day maybe brilliant, after all. He looked at the direction of his brother. What he saw jolted him badly. Brother looked at him with usual absent look in his eyes, but now there was a sad smile on his lips. He turned and went to walk away.

"What was that?" Leonai thought. Suddenly he felt again so sinister feeling. The clock in his mind started to ticking again. It was ticking their time... and what would happen, when it stop? In fact Leonai had never seen a clock, only the rich people could buy those things, but still. The clock was in his mind. Now, something was simply wrong.

Leonai left still ran to the Castle, but wasn't prepared with what was waiting there. The place was full of strange shadow-like-creatures. They appeared more and more. Leonai still joined the battle cursing. The Ominous clock didn't stop ticking in his head. The battle against the enemy strange was clearly lost, even before he had arrived. However, he fought because he couldn't never give up. He got a more space around him for his skills and his riotousness. The situation was saved only for a moment, and then suddenly it seemed shattered once again. Some bigger, much bigger than those shadows, appeared and broke the castle as if it were an wretched house of cards. It ended Leonai's cursing.

Leonai would continue to fight even then, but he heard the screams and cries for help the direction of the village. Somehow, he began to think of his brother. That cursed Darlya could die before he has time to kill him, or he might die here before. He decided to postpone this fight a little later. Besides, the king, which was supposed to pay for his salary, was probably dead. So he fought his way to the destroyed village. He continued running toward his and his brother home. The Clock was ticking more clearly in his head now.

Leonai ran towards the house and the wind blew strongly against him and spinning around him as if it tried to prevent his progression. At last he reached the house, but saw that was collapsed. He certainly didn't know what had broken it, but it doesn't matter. He had to find his brother.

"Darlya! Darlya! Where are you?" He shouted, but it was always useless try to call Darlya. He never answered. Leonai ran to the garden. It seemed to be okay. It was very peaceful. He slowed down the pace and went beyond. And the clock stopped. Then there was very quiet. He accelerated his pace again and ran towards the cherry tree. He still couldn't go closer. He didn't need to. Pink flowers of cherry tree falling down on to someone, who lied under tree. Just like the tree would cried.

Darlya was there, as always, but now Leonai felt like something which had always been a part of him was lost. The Gust of wind blew his pass by and then stopped. Darlya would no longer be there. Never again.

_For some reason Leonai didn't burn Darlya's garden. It was to remain there, as well as cherry tree in middle of it. No one just never been there anymore and no one take care of it._

_Leonai himself died a little later, after his brother. He died the death of mercenaries, because he was killed by his own allies when they fight against the shadows. And those shadows took his heart._

_Today, Darlya and Leonai are better known under the names Xayldar The Nobody Number Thirteen and Xaelion The Nobody Number Nineteen._


	2. Mercenary's Death

Mercenary's Death

Darlya was dead. His brother, his absent-minded brother was gone forever. Leonai didn't know what to think. He felt so empty. He absolutely couldn't feel anything. No satisfaction, no anger, no sadness... Nothing. His brother hadn't been left anything. He had just vanished, faded away as if he would never have existed. Gone forever.

Leonai was sitting on a pub's chair and front of him was half empty bottle of something... He couldn't remember what was it. He was sitting and stared straight ahead without seeing anything. If he could see himself sitting there, he certainly would go to kick the chair away under himself. This wasn't what he tended to be. Well, to sit in the pub and drinking, yes, but not a blank staring. Did he miss his brother somewhere deep in his heart? He didn't confessed it even to himself.

Darlya was dead, their home was broke down, the village was destroyed and the king, who supposed to pay his salary, was dead too and that's it. There were some people who still tried to do something about these strange shadows. It didn't interest Leonai ... Not now. He brought the bottle to his lips.

"Hey, you are a mercenary, right?" He heard suddenly someone asked behind him. He put the bottle away and turned around.

"If I am, then what?" He asked.

"I hire you then." The long man said.

"Sit down, so we can talk about it." Leonai ordered.

"The first, I say you that you should stop that outrageous way to speak, if you want your salary." The man demanded, but sat down.

"And if you want me to fight for you, then you should get used to my outrageous way to speak." Leonai said. It seemed that man thought about it for a while, but apparently he needed a mercenary too much that he could go away. Leonai guessed already what kind of job this was.

"Oh, and if you are going to chase those shadows, so I say to you that, then I'm expensive." Leonai announced. The man gritted his teeth.

"Fine then. I will pay you what you want." The man said then. Leonai was about to choke on his drink. The king had promised exactly the same. He rejected the cautionary idea quickly.

"Okay, I take the job, boss."

"Come to the square tomorrow morning and be ready to travel." The man said and went to away. Leonai snorted and continued drinking.

Leonai arrived to the square next morning, as had been agreed, although he was a little sick because of yesterday's drinking. He hadn't asked about the quality of the task and he got surprised very badly.

"What the heck you think you are doing, you censored heads? Yes, I thought to chasing those shadows is suicide task anyway without that the doomed picnic group will go to do it." Leonai expressed when he saw the whole group. Three men and an old hag... and himself. Leonai couldn't believe his eyes.

"You really could clean your tongue, young man. We have old lady here with us." His boss blamed him.

"Lady... censored... I see only old hag." Leonai snorted. The men drew their swords already, but the old woman prevented it.

"Never mind. In the end, he is right." The woman said and smiled a little. This was weird. Leonai didn't like it.

"Can someone just explain, what is this nonsense?" Leonai snarled.

"This isn't nonsense. This woman is a witch and she knows how to destroy those strange shadows. Our duty is protect her while we traveling. This will be long journey." The boss explained.

"Or very short." Leonai snorted. He wondered where he had received himself at this time.

"Think about your salary and our deal, if you think to refuse now."The boss added. Leonai verily thought of his salary. He needed the money. And he was too proud to give up the fight.

"What ever." Leonai snarled. "Well, will we go to this little suicide trip now or not?" He really didn't know yet, how aptly he had chosen his words.

The journey began immediately. They headed to the places where strange shadows had been seen last. It became a uncomfortable journey for all of them. To the others because of Leonai and Leonai because of others. But they tolerated each other. They were allies after all.

Others were amused by his shortness. They kept to remind him for that all the time when he began to be irritant and this really irritated him. Others just laughed at him. Sometimes they joked that he wasn't there, because they couldn't see him without that they have to looked at down. Then they were amused because it was so amusing to see the short young man on the great horse's back... When they had first laughed to it that he had difficulties to get up there. More joking...

"You are too short."Said the warrior, who name was Grim or something. Leonai didn't care their names. "We shouldn't take this poor child with us. Those shadow will trample him on the ground with their feet."

"Do you really want to fight against me? Then we see who is child!" Leonai yelled.

"Hey, both of you, stop that. We have to save our energy for the shadows." The boss ordered.

"Thus."Grim said and stood up. The petted Leonai's head quickly and walked away then before Leonai had time to kick his butt. Grim was worst of them.

They didn't find those shadows, not even that day. They got only rumors and frightened talking from those people who they met. In the evening, Leonai lied on the ground near of the camp and stared up to the sky, when suddenly he heard someone moving in the camp. He raised his head and saw the old hag wandering the edge of the camp. He came to the conclusion that this hag was just as lost the reality as his brother had been. She had the very same empty look in her eyes, which were in his brother's eyes too. Due to that, some villagers had thought that his brother was blind, and they taught him something... Leonai had no information what was it. Sometimes his brother had believed even himself that he was blind.

However Leonai remembered when once to the village had arrived the war wounded warrior. The warrior would have been better to be dead. Because of his wounds he was mute and almost deaf and blind, too. The only one who was able to understand him, was his brother. Darlya had sat beside a man for a long time and they had discussed each other by drumming their fingers against each other's skin. It was quite strange, but definitely stranger still was the fact that his brother had react to something. The man seemed be interesting to Darlya. Eventually the man died away then.

Again Leonai was lost to think too far. He had planned to stop whole reminiscence. Darlya was gone and that's it. He bitten his lip and refused to think further. He turned his gaze back to the sky, but suddenly he heard the old woman crying warningly. He jumped up and pulled out his manriki. The other warriors were also up immediately.

"They are here." The old woman said. Warriors gathered around her and the shadows surrounded them. Leonai was about to rush forward to battle, but he was stopped.

"Leave this to me. I dispel them. Keep them away from me while I do the spell." The old woman said, and began to mutter something incomprehensible and gesticulate. Leonai didn't believe in this nonsense. He only knew that front of them was a hell of a battle.

"Keep the line." The boss ordered, and so they fought stationary in the circle. Leonai didn't like this kind of way to fight. Suddenly he heard Grim's screaming the other side of circle. He glanced at the direction of Grim, but the man had just disappeared. Just right for that fool, but now they had a hole in their circle. However, the old hag seemed to have her spell to do and she pointed at the shadows with triumphant look on her face. But nothing happened.

"Whole hag is just phony!" Leonai snorted and left from the circle, cursing very loudly and badly. That's it, goodbye to the old hag. The shadows got her before the triumphant look on her face was turned into scare look. The boss and the remaining warrior left the ring, too.

"The task failed." The warrior shouted.

"We have to withdraw." The boss yelled back.

"Impossible."Leonai yelled and continued to fight.

"We could escape if they become interested to something else."The desperate proposal from the warrior.

They all ended up to fight soon again their backs against each other. Indeed, the situation looked very bad. There were too many of enemies. Leonai still didn't want to give up. He would fight. He either be able to survive or die, but he wouldn't feeze in place to whimper as his allies did. He intended to attack the forward ...

... The clock ticking ... He noticed it not until now the middle of chaos ... the ominous clock ticking ...

Suddenly Leonai felt a hit on his back. Pain paralyzed him. He still lowered his eyes down and saw a sword blade through his stomach. His allies...

"That is how mercenaries usually die. Excuse me, but you are too unreliable." The voice behind him said. He didn't get a clear whichever it was, the boss or the warrior. He didn't even able to hear no more. Or, yes, he heard, he only couldn't catch the words . Someone else said something, and the man behind him pulled the sword out.

Blood burst out of Leonai's mouth and he fell to the ground on his knees, trying desperately to get air into his lungs. Pointless ... He couldn't breathe. It was his bad luck that he didn't die immediately. He fell to the ground, rolled on his back and then writhed in agony. He was suffocating his own blood. The shadows approached him. He saw them around him. They waited... They...

Time ticking forwards painfully slowly. He heard the clock ticking. Eventually it stopped, leaving behind a deep silence. The last spark of life had disappeared from Leonai's yellow eyes .

... Silence ...

... The clock began to tick again.


	3. The Light And The Darkness

The Light And The Darkness

The darkness was all around. It was night, moonless night. All around was only some torch's lights, angry people and shouting. The middle of all of this on the ground was a scared boy with purple eyes and long dark green hair. People kicked him and forced him to continue walking forward. His bare feet were wounded, his clothes were in tatters. Worst of all was that he was bloodstained. His parents had tried to save him.

The shadows... blood... The boy couldn't distinguish people's faces. He only saw moving shadows. And now he had arrived at his destination ... The sacrificial place. His life would ends there.

"It's the time to end this. It's time to stop his life, who is ally of the evil spirit. Only his death will end this misery." The boy saw the blade flashing in the darkness and soon he felt the blade on his throat. He waited for slit, which would end his life. But however, that never happened.

"Lord Orm is here!" This shouting saved the boy. The lord rode there with his men. The boy still didn't raise his head. He stayed on the ground as he would be already dead.

"What do you think you are doing?" Angry man's voice asked.

"We get grip of this boy, who is ally of the evil spirit."

" Why do you think he is ally of the evil spirit?"

Someone pulled the boy's head up and he had to look at the lord. Tears flowed down on his pale and bruised cheeks. The Lord looked back at him. The middle-aged man and the very young boy, looked at each other.

"Star forehead! The mark of evil. He bring misery here. For his sake our fields dry out, our cattle die and our children dying of starvation and diseases."

The boy hoped this to end soon. The one way or another. As long as he didn't have to watch the darkness and feel the blood on him anymore. The Lord didn't say anything for a while. He just looked at the boy.

"I'll take the boy with me. You won't see him anymore." The Lord said finally.

This was almost all what the boy remembered. He remembered at some point he had noticed that they were on horseback. The Lord held him in his arms, and the sun begun to rise up to the sky. The first light beams after charcoal dark night ... The hope.

The Lord Orm named the boy to Riki. Nobody knew his previous name there where Lord was taken him. The boy didn' tell it. He took the name Riki with pleased. Riki loved the lord immensely. This was his Savior and educator. He grew up to serve the lord. And because he was precise and careful, soon he became the Lord's book keeper and advisor.

Unfortunately, he also grew a very beautiful and he became a very aware of it. Everyone showed their admiration for him, both women and men. There no one thought that the star mark on his forehead was the mark of evil.

Riki put the pen and ink bottle carefully into their place and looked at his achievement for a moment. The work was done for the day. He rose and went out for a walk. He went to the village and used only sunny main street and avoided even to look at the direction of shady side streets.

"This is a very beautiful day, Riki." Suddenly he heard a female person said. He glanced at the direction of woman. He knew the woman. Eleanor was one woman in among of others , who had a crush on him. He just wasn't interested. However, he still smiled politely to Eleanor.

"Good afternoon, my beloved Eleanor."

"Where do you went yesterday? The sunset was very beautiful. You missed it." Eleanor asked.

"I... I am sorry. I had to do something ." Riki said. The falling darkness...

"You do too much work." Eleanor said. "Anyway... Can we walk together for while?"

"Sure." Riki answered. He didn't have anything against admiration. He actually lived from it. They continued walking together.

"Mmm, Riki, I want to say that I lov..." Eleanor had no time to finish what she was saying when suddenly to the street leapt a shabby man with knife in his hand. He was going to stab it to Eleanor, but he didn't succeed. No thanks to Riki, who only stared at situation as he was paralyzed. The savior was a guard, who shot the man with his bow.

"Are you two okay? We had been looking for him for a long time and... Hey, Riki? What's wrong?" The guard asked.

Riki's face was very pale. He just turned around and quickly ran away, and stopped not until he was in the courtyard of Lord's mansion, next to the creek. He stared at his hands with horrified look on his face a moment and then started to wash his hands.

"Blood... My hands are dirty... I have to wash..." Riki mumbled himself and continued washing his hands. From there his Lord finally found him later when someone had brought him there because Riki hadn't listened to them. He had just continued to wash his hands.

"Riki, calm down. All is fine." The Lord said gently behind him and he felt a hand landed on his shoulder.

"My hands are dirty." Riki sobbed and didn't stop.

"No, they are clean, Riki. You can stop now." The Lord said. Riki turned around and looked at the lord. The Lord pressed him against his chest. "All is fine."

This wasn't Riki's only peculiarity. Every night and dark day, Riki was anxious. He startled by the shadows and tried to keep as much candles burning as possible. He felt to be safe only under the sunlight. All became worse when the shadows began to live.

"What is meaning of this?" The Lord asked from his messenger. Riki stood next to him like always.

"The strange enemy started to spread. It looks like they come here next." The messenger said.

"Living shadows? Alright then. I put my men to work. I won't let those living shadows to come here. Riki, write the orders"

"Of course, my lord." Riki said and bowed a little. Then he went to his office. He walked to front of his desk and sat down. He started to write the orders, but suddenly he stopped when he saw the shadow on the paper. Riki jumped up being spooked and he tried to look around. The darkness had begun to spread to the room because the outside was suddenly become dark. This was already enough to scare Riki, but that's not all.

Riki saw eyes in the shadows, yellow-glowing eyes and the shadows was moving. Riki paralyzed because of fear. One shadow was separated from other and it came closer. It reached its hand towards to Riki's chest. Riki couldn't move. All what he could do was stare. Suddenly the room's door opened and light came in. The shadows disappeared. Those shadows with glowing eyes, too.

"Riki." It was his Lord. He had saved Riki again. "It is so dark suddenly, so I thought you maybe want to come to my office with me. You can write the orders there."

Riki only nodded, took his writing instruments and followed the lord. He couldn't tell what happened. Those living shadows were already there.

Next morning the lord went with his men to search the strange enemy. Riki stayed in the mansion to complete his work, but he couldn't focus. Eventually he gave up and went out to walk. The day was beautiful again. The sun was shining high on the sky and the birds were singing in the trees. Just like all of yesterday would be just a bad dream. Riki began to calm down little by little. He sat in one of meadow, and took out a small mirror. He sat admiring his own face until the mirror show him that someone was approaching.

"My beloved Eleanor." He greeted.

"Hi, Riki. Do you know that some villagers have disappeared?" Eleanor said and sat next to him.

" Every now and then that happen." Riki said.

" But this time here's something weird. Just as the shadows had taken them." Eleanor said. Riki was suddenly alert when he heard those words. He opened his mouth to say something but then suddenly his mirror showed him reflection how the shadow was approaching them. The sun went to behind clouds. Riki stood up quickly and Eleanor did the same. The shadows were everywhere.

"Riki, what are they?" Eleanor asked being afraid.

"Run!" Riki shouted and grabbed Eleanor with him. He started to run back to the village and towards to the lord's mansion. The shadows were fast. They raised up from the ground and they tried to grab them. Suddenly they succeeded to grab Eleanor's leg.

"Riki! Riki! Help me!" Eleanor cried. She fell and her hand slipped out from Riki's hand. All what Riki could do was glance at Eleanor. But that's was all. Eleanor was gone. He would certainly remember it forever. Remember how his fear of the dark accrued to Eleanor's death. He saved himself.

That evening, he heard in the mansion, that he had lost the Lord, too. This and the whole of this group had disappeared. Riki would be alone. In the same evening he did something unusual. He was sitting outside watching how the darkness descended. He still feared, but he no longer escaped. He was stronger now. At night the shadows came back.

Riki was sitting front of his desk. He heard that something was moving in the room, but he didn't turn. He just continued writing with his beautiful handwriting. He knew already what was waiting him there. He saw it when he looked at his mirror on the desk. It should wait another minute.

Riki completed his work and put the pen on the desk neatly and shut ink-bottle. The Book, he left open, because the ink hadn't dried yet. He looked at the desk for while to make sure that all was well in their own place. Then he slowly rose up and turned towards the living shadows. However, he feared, but now he knew that there was no longer anything what he could do. The shadows finally get him anyway.

"Well, I'm ready." Riki said.

Riki or better Kirix, The Nobody Number Five.


	4. Shattered Dream

Shattered Dream

This isn't actually story. This is part of Gone-story. I only left it away from English version earlier because original Finnish version was too long to translate with my poor English and I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell this part. Other side of Xayldar. I changed the start, but you can find this story's place in Gone-story.

The Clock. Leonai almost heard it inside his head. It took its first stage to tick. Leonai didn't know why and he really didn't like it. The ominous clock. Maybe something really was wrong like his dreamer brother had said. Leonai needed something else to think and he went to train how to use manriki. His new weapon, but he already liked it. He trained end of the day. When he came back to home very later, Darlya was still missing. Leonai didn't care.

The Night. The house was quiet and dark, but someone still was moving inside. This someone crept like a shadow itself. It knew what it was doing. The first it walked inside the house, but made a mistake when it walked pass by of the bedroom.

Leonai woke up. He wasn't sure what had awaken him. Some kind of sound? Nothing heard when he tried to listen. The house was very quiet and he began to be sure, that was only imagined, when suddenly he heard it again. Steps. Maybe Darlya had returned, but no. Footsteps sounded too determined to be his dreamer brother's.

Leonai stood up quickly and grabbed his manriki next to the bed. He crept to the his room's door, opened it slightly and looked around. He saw only darkness. Nothing was moving there. Quiet and empty... But window was open.

Leonai hurried towards to the window. Someone had left out through of it... but probably hadn't come in there. There was no dirt on the floor. Leonai didn't like this. Something really was wrong. He clambered out through of the window and found footprints under the window in moist ground. They were quite small, actually the same sized than his own, so they could be Darlya's footprints, but...

Leonai raised his gaze. The night was very dark because dark clouds was covering the sky and the moon. The air was humid and the wind very strong. It growled like a angry wolf trying to tear trees up from their roots and throe Leonai on the ground. It was changing direction unexpectedly.

"Darlya!" Leonai shouted. Useless. It was always so useless. Even without that strong wind which engulf his shout, it was useless. Leonai struggled against the wind and followed those footprints. "Darlya!" Why he shouted that name. That couldn't be Darlya. Leonai really wasn't sure.

Those footprints led him towards to the cliff and he started to think if those were Darlya's footprints, brother had probably fallen off a cliff to down greedily frothy sea. Darlya was fool. Those footprints didn't led off the cliff. They turned to follow the edge of a cliff. Leonai followed them until they suddenly disappeared. Leonai stopped and strong gust of the wind almost threw him down from the cliff to the angry sea.

"Is it really Darlya?" Leonai thought. Something seemed to be very strange. Well, Darlya was weird person, but still... Darlya was a long gone from this world to his own dream world. Leonai felt very bitter feeling. It was one and the same, if that hopeless dreamer indeed was crushed after falling over a cliff. One unfortunate less.

Leonai still continued searching. Occasionally, he found footprints again, but lost them then when ground became cobbly. They led again off a cliff, back to towards the village. He assumed that would be easier to follow them now, but somehow they disappeared again and he didn't find them again this time. Leonai still tried. Twice strong wind threw his light short body on the wet ground.

Then he finally saw it. The Shape against a stormy sky, but the storm didn't seem to affect him. Not as badly as it affected Leonai. The Shape stood with his back to Leonai's direction. Wind was fluttering his long white hair and made him look almost ghostly. Leonai noticed that he was holding the spear.

"Darlya!" Leonai shouted and he started to approach the shape. He achieved his brother and grabbed his hand, but pulled it back suddenly. His hand had touched something wet and sticky. Leonai looked at his hand. Blood. Was his brother wounded?

The shape suddenly turned around and looked at him. It was Darlya and it wasn't still. Something was different. Leonai looked at his brother's eyes and knew what. Very cold blue eyes responded to his gaze. In those eyes weren't a hint of absent-midness, which was typical to Darlya. These eyes were alert and cold as ice. It wasn't the only thing that froze Leonai into his place. The spear, what Darlya was holding, was bloodstained. Suddenly Leonai was sure that there wasn't a single drop of his brother blood.

The Situation surprised him badly. He couldn't move when he saw very cold smile on Darlya's lips. Those lips formed words. It will end. Something hit his temple... strongly. Leonai fell backwards and the last thing what he saw before he lost consciousness, was those cold deep blue eyes. Impossible...

Leonai regained consciousness and rose so quickly that he fell out of bed and hit his to the edge of the night table. He yelped the pain, but sat up quickly and looked around rubbing his temple. This was his room. It was still night and outside the wind was very strong. Leonai stood up and toured the house through the rooms. Darlya wasn't still there. Leonai went outside to look the place under the window, but there wasn't footprints.

"It was a dream." Leonai thought and came back to inside to his room and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Of course... a stupid dream. Darlya isn't that weird... but recently he has been stranger than usual..." He fell backwards on the bed and thought to go back to sleep, but then suddenly his eyes noticed the bundle of grass in the chain of his manriki. He grabbed his weapon and stared at the bundle. Fresh soil and grass. He didn't really know what to think. He wasn't feeling well anyway, because his temple hurt... his temple... Leonai blinked his eyes. It was really confusing.

Darlya was back in the morning...


	5. Untold

**Untold**

Darlya's and Leonai's childhood and Gone-story in Xayldar's or actually Darlya's view. This is probably fake because we can't be sure about Darlya's life and his way to think.

"I lost my way back to home.  
I lost my reason to stay.  
My only hope shine above me,  
Too far to reach.

When the moon go through of the sky,  
one day, the day comes when you cry for me.  
I am wandering in the darkness.  
Could you believe it before night is falling?  
Could you believe it before the sun set behind of my grave?

My destination is wandering in lost.  
My destination is fading away.  
I have lost my only light.  
Now the way is gone.

Time to forget those painful memories.  
Let those deep wounds to heal or die away.  
And now we have lost our past.

Your path, to through of the battlefields.  
one day, the day comes when I cry for you.  
You are wandering in the darkness.  
Do you fight side by side with me?  
if I turn around, is that you I see?

The final place to those I loved.  
The place where mercenary died.  
I have taken my finally breath.

When the moon go through of the sky,  
one day, the day comes when they remember our fight.  
We wandering in the darkness.  
Could you believe it before night is falling?  
Could you believe it before the sun set behind of our graves?

The rising sun  
Blood red battlefields  
The final fight.  
Eyes closed, just waiting for the dawn.  
And we are gone forever."

~Darlya's song~

For the first moment of his life, Darlya was beloved. His parents loved him. Loved the child with deep blue eyes and white hair. The beautiful child. They believed that his life would be great. They didn't realize there was something with him. He himself didn't realized it. It didn't show itself yet. Darlya was like other children. Maybe a little more absent-minded than normal, but still. Beloved.

And there was other child. A blue-haired child with cold yellow eyes, weird black stripes on his cheeks. He was two years older than Darlya... Bastard, unloved, unwanted. The child, who shouldn't ever born to this world. Darlya didn't know why it was like that, but he realized that there was already a person, who really hated him. The blue-haired child hated everyone.

"It 's because of you." Bitterness... Leonai's answer to the whole world: They all hate me, so I give them a reason to do so. Leonai was reckless, cursed like a sailor, fought, stole, did a lot of bad things and was proud of it. If Leonai did something wrong, he always confessed it. Never try to say , it wasn't him.

The world was cruel. Darlya saw often how Leonai beaten up by the group of other children, adults and their father. Darlya couldn't do anything to help him.

"Leonai! Come here! Now!" Father sounded angrily. Darlya saw that Leonai startled a little, but then this yellow eyed child shouted and fight back. Beaten, but never gave up. Darlya only closed his eyes and told himself those things never happened.

And finally came to day when something ended. Darlya was about five years old and Leonai was seven. They played on the fields. They were great warriors. They were fighting against each other in the battle field. The last heroes from different armies. This was final battle.

Leonai attacked towards Darlya with his wooden sword. It was easy hit to dodge and block. Darlya moved his wooden shield to raise it between Leonai's sword and him, but suddenly he froze. His deep blue eyes opened wide and he couldn't move. He didn't see Leonai. He saw... He felt wooden sword hit in his forehead and he fell.

"Darlya? Darlya! You fool! Why you didn't block it?" Darlya heard angry voice was shouting at him. He opened his eyes and didn't see anything or actually he wasn't sure if he saw. He felt confused. He didn't even noticed that Leonai started to help him back to home. He looked at things around him. They were like in the veil of mist. Not real. Then he felt something what was real. The wind blew towards him, touched his face whispering and carrying scent of moist grass. He was fascinated.

"Darlya! Leonai! What happened? Oh, my little Darlya..." The Voice of a woman. Darlya didn't recognize it. Not voice or face of that woman, who ran towards of them from the house and hugged him. There was a man too. Darlya didn't care. He hoped that they could be quiet and let him be.

"Darlya, Darlya."The woman cried still hugging him.

"Are hurt, Darlya?"The man asked. Too much noises. Too much loud noises. They started to hurt his ears. They confused him. The whole situation confused him. He couldn't understand what they said.

"Who are you?" He asked then and managed to free himself. Those noises stopped. They started at him. It scared him. He didn't want to see those faces and so he stopped seeing them. His mind was wandering with the wind, but suddenly he woke up slightly when he heard slapping sound and smelled blood.

The man shouted angrily to someone, who lied on the ground. Darlya blinked his eyes and looked at that someone. The young boy with blue hair and yellow eyes... black stripes on his cheeks... His brother, Leonai.

"Don't hurt my brother!" He cried suddenly. Those people turned their eyes to him. Shocked. He also was shocked and fell again somewhere in the deepest corners of his minds, which no one could get him to return.

Darlya didn't know how many days passed by him. He didn't know that his parents blamed Leonai of what had happened. No one knew that it actually wasn't Leonai's fault. While Darlya was in his own dream world, Leonai and parents argued and fought. That led to Leonai's conclusion. Maybe someway Darlya knew it even if it seemed that he was totally gone from this world. He came back from there at the night and first thing he saw was Leonai. The blue-haired boy crept quietly through of the room.

"Leonai?" Darlya whispered and sat up. His brother froze in place and turned his yellow eyes to him. Those eyes was looking at him feverishly as if Leonai would struggle inside him.

"You recognize me?" Leonai asked quietly. Darlya blinked his eyes and nodded then a little. It was weird question. Of course he recognize his brother... but he wasn't sure where they were. Actually Leonai was only thing what he recognize. He couldn't remember what had happened.

Leonai looked at him and room around them for a while. He was unsure, but then it seemed that he had made a decision. The blue-haired boy came closer and grabbed Darlya's arm. Darlya stood up and Leonai led him out of the room and then out of the house.

It was peacefully and warm night, but suddenly Darlya felt that something was wrong. He tried to find answer around him. He felt only faint wind against his face and saw his brother. The last one left him alone in the field a little farther from the house. He disappeared in the night. Darlya couldn't see him and nothing happened for a while, but then he saw a flash from the direction of the house. Flames... Leonai came back and took his hand.

"What is it?" Darlya asked. His brother only watched at the house with his cold eyes.

"Nothing... " He finally said quietly. They only watched when the house was burning down. Leonai suddenly took a hold of Darlya's shouldesr. Darlya turned his deep blue eyes to him. Leonai was pale and Darlya was sure that he would faint soon. He still had no time to say anything when Leonai opened his mouth to speak first. "Darlya, there is only two of us now... Only we... We need each other that we could survive. Do you understand me? Don't leave me..." The blue-haired boy fainted, but Darlya promised to him that he would never leave him.

It was accident. The house burned down and two people died, because they had been trapped inside. Luckily both of their children were still alive. Or probably more like luckily that Darlya was alive. No one care about Leonai.

As promised brother took care of each other. They lived in the other house outside of the village, near of the sea. The villagers gave then food and what they needed and if they didn't, Leonai stole them. Darlya's absent-mindness wasn't so bad anymore. Leonai teached him to read, brought him some books and also teached him fight. Darlya become good fighter, but he was still more interest in stories and songs. So while Leonai was in battle train, Darlya listened wandering bards and read books.

"I will become mercenary." Leonai told Darlya one day.

"Mercenary? Oh, brother don't. People despise them." Darlya said. Leonai laughed ironically.

"Are you blind and deaf? People despise me already. Hey, my salaries will be good and I can decide myself, who I obey. That will be great. And you my brother, you can always make stories about my fights... and songs too."Leonai smirked. Darlya wasn't sure. Of course he wanted to create story about his brother. People in the stories...

"...they will never die away. I always can open the book again and they live again..." He said quietly. Leonai snorted and shook his head. And drink more from the bottle of something.

Something started to going wrong again. Darlya's sickness started to take over him. The last strike was probably was the false new which told that Leonai had died in the battle. The truth was that Leonai had wounded badly and couldn't come back when rest of army came back. Five days Darlya heard how the villagers were joking about Leonai's death. They laughed at this joke. They didn't say anything when Darlya was there, but when they thought that he wasn't, they did it. Unfortunately Darlya heard it.

In the stories and in the songs, people never died away. They were alive again when someone opened a book again and started to song the same song. There were real heroes and right answers. Those stories started to be more and more interesting to Darlya. He read them, he created them, told them, he listened songs, he created songs and he sang. He was very good storyteller and storysinger, but those stories started to be his reality. He lost himself.

That blue-haired young man. Darlya couldn't recognize him. He tried to remember, but it was useless. The name was gone, his face was gone and his past with Darlya was gone. Darlya's own past was gone.

"Who are you?" He asked.

He could see how those yellow eyes turned to look unbelieving. The young man looked shocked. Then his gaze turned to anger and despair. "You are abandoned me, Darlya! We had to be here for each other. But decided your own! I hate you! Do you hear me? I hate, hate, hate!" The blue-haired young man shouted, but he was no longer exist to Darlya anymore.

Darlya stood on the edge of the cliff. The wind billowed his long white hair and his deep blue eyes watched direction of the sea under the cliff. Eternal sea. Darlya never had been other side of it. He loved to be there, but not because of sea, but because of wind.

Like some stories said. There was spirits in the wind. They could tell secrets and news, but only a few could understand them. This was only a story, but to Darlya, it was true. The wind was whispering to him. Darlya's mind had been long gone from this world. He lived in his stories and songs, but sometimes for a short moment his mind wondering back to see this world, but it wasn't real world to Darlya. It was only a dream... nightmare, where dead couldn't come back to life.

Darlya had been in his garden, dreaming under his precious pink-flowered cherry tree, which was just started to bloom. He really loved that tree. There he was sitting until the wind had come to whisper to him and he has followed it to the edge of the cliff. The wind tried to tell him something... something sad. Darlya felt depressed feeling. He closed his eyes. And he heard something else than whispering wind. Determined steps, but they turned to a little unsure when they got closer.

"Something is wrong... I think that wind tries to tell me something." Darlya said then and opened his eyes. Actually he didn't care, who had come and probably he didn't even rally noticed him.

"The wind can't speak, bother." The blue-haired young man snorted. Brother? Who is he? Darlya didn't care. The wind was whispering him more and he listened it. So sinister... so ending...

"Something unknown enemy has appeared... Soon, all will end." Darlya knew it already. The end... He didn't looked at that angry young man anymore.

"What ever." The young man snorted and went away. Darlya couldn't understand this young man. Call him a brother and say that the wind couldn't speak. Darlya felt a little sorry for him. It looked like the man was lost somehow. He was acting so weird. Darlya sighed and shook his head.

Darlya stayed on the edge rest of the day. He was watching how the sun set behind the sea and shadows were growing longer. The Darkness was beautiful. It may be made him blind, but his other senses became stronger. Darlya blinked his eyes. When he opened his eyes, his gaze turned to cold. The Dream world scattered around him. The Dreamer was gone.

"I have a work to do." He muttered to himself and cursed then, but then started to walk in the darkness.

It was morning and first thing that Darlya noticed was a hard slap on his cheek. He raised his head and looked at the blue-haired young man, who has slapped him. Darlya was sitting on the floor, legs crossed as usual. It was very rare if he sometimes sit on the chair.

"Shut up!"The angry blue-haired shouted. "Don't sing that song!" Darlya only blinked his eyes. I didn't do anything? ... Why he is so angry.

Darlya didn't eat breakfast. He only stayed there where he was until the blue-haired stripeface grabbed his arm and pulled him up. He led Darlya outside. Darlya didn't know what he wanted, but followed still. Suddenly the blue-haired young man pushed the spear to him.

"Well then, Fight with me!" The young man said.

Actually Darlya didn't even listened him. He only stared at the spear. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't remember what is it. He tried to remember... anger... He knew how to use this weapon. He raised his gaze to his brother and attacked. His brother avoided it and he attacked again. Some kind of chain weapon swung through of the air. Darlya didn't know what weapon was that, but it was forceful. Before his spear hit its target, the chain weapon wrapped around the shaft of the spear. Hit scattered the spear and surprised Darlya. His mind escaped back to his dream world.

Stripeface was going to hit him with his chain weapon. Darlya didn't care, but something or someone stopped the blue-haired man. Through of mist of dreams he heard galloping. Horseman.

Darlya didn't care to listen what Stripeface and the horseman was talking about. He heard the wind, what was blowing from the direction of the village and the castle. He heard voices of the battle, voices of the despair. The last page of this story. Ending...

"... over. I'm leaving now." The blue-haired man said to him. The Horseman was gone. Darlya hadn't noticed when he had rode away. He looked at the blue-haired man, his brother. Blue haired, stripefaced with cold yellow eyes... Leonai.

Darlya knew that was the last time when he saw him. He tried to keep this image in his mind, but it was useless. He knew he would forget it. It was sad. Darlya smiled sadly to his brother. Then he felt that he couldn't look at him anymore. It was too painful. He turned around and walked away. He forgot, but the feeling that something was wrong, stayed.

He went to there were he could feel the wind better, to the edge of cliff. The wind was stronger near of the sea. But he couldn't stay there long. He couldn't hear those voice of the battle. The wind brought those voice to his ears. He turned around and ran to the house. His fighter personality raised its head inside him. He wanted to do something to help.

He saw them while he was running. He saw those shadow... unknown enemy. They raised from the ground, tried to stop him, but he continue to the house. He noticed the spear leaned against the wall and grabbed it. In the same time house broke down. It collapsed on him when something crushed it down. Darlya tried to crawl out and when he managed to do so, he saw a huge shadow above him. The end had come.

Darlya stood up quickly. Those years with his brother, he had learned to be persistent too... someway. Not as persistent as his brother, but still. Darlya fought. He found against those smaller shadows until his spear scattered when more shadow came and one of them hit his spear broken. He had hurt his hands and his strength was at the end. The fight was impossible. His mind tried to find his dream world again.

Darlya ran to place what he thought to be safest. To his garden and under that cherry tree. He fell down under the tree. He felt peaceful feeling although he knew that the fight was end to him. He looked at those pink flowers and started to sing the very old song quietly. He didn't even notice those shadow anymore. They were crawling towards him.

Darlya closed his eyes. The wind was whispering him again. He saw the castle with white halls and the moonlight. The new story. He was sad because of that blue-haired man in his story, wouldn't die as peacefully than him. He was sorry that he couldn't write him to die that way. But alter all the blue-haired man was mercenary. Reckless and despised. He would die like mercenaries died. That wasn't story what Darlya could see. His own story was somewhere else. He was still sorry that he couldn't remember that blue-haired man's name.

Darlya didn't see the end when he opened his eyes again. What he saw was a new start, a new story, a new book. That happened when the reader came to the last page of the book. And so the story ended. It was time to take the next book and read the next story.


End file.
